 Now that Thanksgiving is over, many would say the Christmas season can finally begin. The Bemidji JCC has always helped start the season by hosting the annual Nightly Lights Celebration. Reporter Rachel Johnson has more. The streets of downtown Bemidji were lined with people tonight as Christmas lights and holiday floats passed by. Today is kind of the culmination of a year's long worth of planning and hard work. Today is the big Nightly Lights Celebration. This year's Nightly Light was bigger than ever. We've taken and we've grown this even from last year to this year. We added, I think the grand total was seven new things. This is really the largest Nightly Light Celebration the city of Bemidji has ever had. New this year is Paul Bunyan's Christmas tree, a 56 foot tall metal tree with 20,000 LED lights. We've always wanted to have a town Christmas tree, but we knew we had to do something big and grand and what better way to do it than a 56 foot tall metal tree that is set to music. The tree was made possible through a donation by Paul Bunyan Communications. When we were approached about the potential of the Paul Bunyan tree, obviously Paul Bunyan is our namesake and this is our hometown for our cooperative and has been since the beginning. It was just a natural I think for us to be involved to help make this a reality. The Nightly Light Parade and Ceremony is the cap to a multitude of other events being held for the first city of lights. We do have a lot going on. We have Santa's Workshop which is in full swing. We have everything from crafts to pictures with Santa. We make some ornaments, enjoy some Christmas treats and also vote for their favorite downtown window display and also pick up the map for the Tour of Homes which kicks off tonight as well. The first city of lights has been going on for 22 years. The JC's took over the festivities in 2014. It's taking leaps and bounds this year obviously with the addition of the 56 foot Paul Bunyan tree, but also the addition of hundreds of thousands of lights. I mean it's going to be bigger and better than ever before. So the tradition that was started years ago is only getting much, much bigger and better thanks to the JC's. The Nightly Light has been an important and look forward to tradition for the area every year. It's been a family tradition for me even since I was little. I couldn't even walk and I was at my very first city of lights. My family has been going for so many years and now I get to keep that tradition up so hopefully future generations can come and come and enjoy the same things that I did, but on a greater level. The JC's hope to keep growing the celebration and making memories for years to come. Reporting from Bemidji, Rachel Johnson, Lakeland News. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.